Yes, Influences Are Enriching, And They Can

That Is Why The Analogy Of Stealing Does Not Work. With A Thief, We Want To Know How Much Money He Or She Stole, And From Whom? With The Artist It Is Not How Much He Or She Took From Whom, But What The Artist Did With It.

To Me, Mozart Is Our Shakespeare, The One Who Wrote The Most Dramatic, Psychologically Most Baffling Music. He Combined Ideas That No One Else Would Have Thought Of Putting Together.

Anybody Can Put Things Together That Belong Together. To Put Things Together That Don't Go Together, And Make It Work, That Takes Genius Like Mozart's. Yet He Is Presented In The Play Amadeus As A Kind Of Silly Boy Whom The Gods Loved.

Why Do We Pigeonhole And Label An Artist? It Is A Sure Way Of Missing The Important, The Contradictory, The Things That Make Him Or Her Unique.

Personality Is Essential. It Is In Every Work Of Art. When Someone Walks On Stage For A Performance And Has Charisma, Everyone Is Convinced That He Has Personality. I Find That Charisma Is Merely A Form Of Showmanship. Movie Stars Usually Have It. A Politician Has To Have It.